Nigeria’s Super Falcons face a tough road to reclaiming the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title, with defending champions South Africa stepping up their preparations to retain the crown.
Nigeria has yet to confirm any warm-up matches, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana is set to host two friendly games against Lesotho in Johannesburg this month.
Super falcons playing against the South Africa in the Olympics qualifiers in Abuja
The matches, scheduled for February 22 and 25, 2025, are part of a nine-day training camp from February 17 to 26, under the guidance of head coach Desiree Ellis.
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These friendlies will be South Africa’s first action of 2025, following their two away matches against Jamaica in December. According to SAFA Ellis sees these fixtures as vital for refining tactics and expanding squad depth ahead of WAFCON 2025 in Morocco, set for July 5–26.
Super Falcons Aim to Reclaim Glory
The Super Falcons, Africa’s most successful women’s team with nine WAFCON titles, have not won the tournament since 2018.
After decades of dominance, Nigeria is eager to return to the top, having been dethroned by South Africa in 2022—just as Equatorial Guinea briefly interrupted their reign in the past.
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Despite the absence of upcoming fixtures, the Super Falcons have been preparing behind the scenes. Last year, they secured two friendly wins over Algeria before putting up a strong fight in a 2-1 loss to France in November. However, with South Africa accelerating their build-up, Nigeria will need to arrange more high-profile friendlies to stay competitive ahead of the tournament.
